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Strange Fire Lyrics
I come to you with strange fire
I make an offering of love
The incense of my soul is burned
By the fire in my blood
I come with a softer answer
To the questions that lie in your path
I want to harbor you from the anger
Find a refuge from the wrath
This is a message, a message of love
Love that moves from the inside out
Love that never grows tired
I come to you with strange fire
Mercenaries of the shrine
Now who are you to speak for god
With haughty eyes and lying tongues
And hands that shed innocent blood
Now who delivered you the power
To interpret calvary
You gamble away our freedom
To gain your own authority
Find another state of mind
Reach out to grab hold
Strange fire burns
With the motion of love
When you learn to love yourself
You will dissolve all the stones that are cast
Now you will learn to burn the icing sky
To melt the waxen mask
I said to have the gift of true release
There's a peace that will take you higher
I come to you with my offering
I bring you strange fire
This is a message, a message of love
Love that moves from the inside out
Love that never grows tired
I come to you with strange fire
I come to you with strange fire
I make an offering of love
The incense of my soul is burned
By the fire in my blood
To the questions that lie in your path
I want to harbor you from the anger
Find a refuge from the wrath
Love that moves from the inside out
Love that never grows tired
I come to you with strange fire
Now who are you to speak for god
With haughty eyes and lying tongues
And hands that shed innocent blood
To interpret calvary
You gamble away our freedom
To gain your own authority
Reach out to grab hold
Strange fire burns
With the motion of love
You will dissolve all the stones that are cast
Now you will learn to burn the icing sky
To melt the waxen mask
There's a peace that will take you higher
I come to you with my offering
I bring you strange fire
Love that moves from the inside out
Love that never grows tired
I come to you with strange fire
I come to you with strange fire
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I'm not aware of Amy Ray ever explaining the meaning of this song, but what I get from it is commentary on being gay and interacting with Christian churches.
The phrase "strange fire" comes from a puzzling biblical passage theologians have often struggled to make sense of in a modern context. It describes two sons of Aaron who bring an offering to the altar, and their god not only rejects their offering, but kills them for it:
Leviticus 10:1 reads:
2 And there went out fire from the Lord, and devoured them, and they died before the Lord.
So what is this "strange fire"? Modern interpretations say that Nadab and Abihu brought incense that had been lit elsewhere, disobeying a rule that only incense lit at the altar itself could be offered.
Amy connects herself to the incense with "the incense of my soul is burned/by the fire in my blood." What's her offering? Her love. "I make an offering of love.... I come to you with strange fire."
Yet, the church rejects it. It tells her she's brought the wrong kind of love. I'm interpreting here, but I think that she's probably referencing her sexuality - she offers up what's in her soul, and she's told it's wrong. She puts herself in the shoes of Nadab and Abihu here.
She goes on to condemn the preachers who've rejected her, with her "mercenaries of the shrine/now who are you to speak from god?"
She ends in a place where self-love helps her get over the rejection "when you learn to love yourself/you will disolve all the stones that are cast." There she finds "a peace that will take you higher." And it doesn't come from rejecting her own sexuality, but embracing it. At the end of the song, she's still saying "I come to you with my offering/I bring you strange fire." So she's not adapting to the church's view that her offering, her love, is wrong. She's defiantly embracing it and challenging others to explain how they can possibly speak for god in rejecting it.
It's a gorgeous, painful song, and my interpretation of it isn't based on anything I've ever heard Amy say.
Thank you for that. It seems very accurate. I first heard this song back in the early 90s and wasn't exactly sure what it was about, but I thought it had some spiritual or religious meaning. It wasn't just the lyrics that gave me that idea. The style and harmony in the song reminded me of music i heard in church as a child. I immediately loved the song. What I hear her saying is God accepts me or Jesus even if the atorities don't. Its very poweful and it doesn't come from a place of hate. Thank you.